PULSATING liquid crystal molecules dangling from the molecular backbone of a
rubbery polymer could be used to make a nano-pump, say scientists in
Germany.
Liquid crystals are used in displays because their molecules can twist in an
electric field to block light. But getting liquid crystals to do useful
mechanical work is difficult, because the molecules float free. “If you push on
them, they’ll just flow away,” says Walter Lehmann of the University of
Leipzig.
Not any more. Lehmann’s team has linked liquid crystal molecules to chains of
rubbery polymers called polysiloxanes. “You can think of them as hanging down…
